Dark Fates

DEMON'S FEVER T.F. Walsh

The six-second rule to vanquish demons wasn't a secret hidden from the beasts. Except, they tended to focus on escape, not freakin' counting down. The hair on Cary's arms spiked.

"Two, one," he continued.

Cary's fingers tightened around his gnarly neck. A coil tightened in her chest. Why the shit isn't it leaving the body?

Baldy's hand snaked out, snatching a handful of her hair, and wrenched her backward. "Tasty, even for a crossbreed. But you've lost me a meal. Guess, you'll take her place." His lips peeled up, revealing razor sharp incisors stained with blood. She hadn't seen one of these demons before.

"Not in this lifetime." Sweat collected on her lower back. She drove her boot into his shin, then his groin. No effect.

A snarl gurgled in his throat. He flung her across the alley.

Her back slammed into the brick wall. Air thrust from her lungs, and she crashed to her knees. Each breath strained as dragged herself to her feet. Warm-up stage was over. She reached to her ankle and grabbed the blade tucked inside her boot.

No time to wrestle with the mystery of why the demon wasn't vanishing. She saved the human first and now to finish the monster.

Baldy stormed closer, but she threw a roundhouse kick. Her boot struck his gut.

Stumbling back a few steps, he broke into a chuckle. "Fiery and delicious."

"Shut the fuck up. Die."

His smirk persisted. He pounced toward her, driving his palms against her chest.

Cary stumbled backward from the momentum. She hit the wall again, the back of her head smacking the brick building.

The monster charged and pressed his body against her.

Her vision danced and panic fed her adrenaline. No demon had ever gotten an upper hand on her. "Get off."

Baldy pinned her in place, his hands trapping her wrists. His mouth dipped to her neck, teeth scraping skin. Sharp teeth pierced flesh again.

Her body shuddered as a scream pressed the back of her throat.

She kicked and kneed him. This wasn't how it went. She did the butt-kicking. Not a vampiric demon sucking her blood.

His rough tongue licked her wound. Shivers engulfed her as did images of her life. Living alone. No friends. No sign of her father.

She snaked a foot around his leg and whacked her heel into the back of his knee. It didn't dislodge him, but the move caught him off guard. He lifted his head. Blood smeared his grin, and her stomach churned.

Not wasting time, she slammed her forehead into his nose.

His grip loosened, and she wrenched a hand free. She thrust two fingers into his eyes.

He wailed, releasing her other wrist and a sudden explosion of electricity struck her body. Baldy flung backward and landed on his ass.

Cary fell to the ground as the last traces of electricity buzzed through her.

A group of men in white shirts closed in from the mouth of the alley. They threw a lasso around Baldy's neck and tightened their hold. Baldy's snarls permeated the air, his body thrashing.

Two guys were in a tug-of-war with the possessed.

Who the shit were they?

A van swerved into the alley. Four men jumped out and darted for Baldy. One jabbed an injection into his arm, and the rest dragged him into the vehicle. The doors shut, and the van sped away.